By Elise Ann Allen

ROME (Crux) — After Pope Francis last week met with several American cardinals attending this year’s Synod of Bishops, one who was notably missing from the lineup said he had not been invited to participate in the meeting.

Speaking to Crux, Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington said, “I didn’t get the invitation.”

“I have no idea. I don’t know if they asked for the meeting or that the Holy Father asked them,” the Archbishop of Washington added. “I simply don’t know.”

On Oct. 10, the Vatican announced Pope Francis had a meeting that morning with U.S. Cardinals Joesph Tobin of Newark, Blase Cupich of Chicago, and Robert McElroy of San Diego to discuss what Tobin later described as “challenges” in the American Church.

Many observers found Cardinal Gregory’s absence notable, as he was the only sitting archbishop and cardinal named by Pope Francis participating in the Oct. 2-27 Synod on Synodality who was not in attendance.

Cardinal Gregory, in his interview with Crux, spoke about his efforts to implement synodality in Washington and how synodality can respond to current challenges in the American Catholic Church.

Crux: You attended last year’s [Synod of Bishops] and now, you are here this year. What were the main points you took away from last year’s discussion, and how have you implemented that at home?

Cardinal Gregory: I am very fortunate. I have a wonderful staff of people who have taken a personal interest in the synod and advancing the questions that the synod is holding out for public discussion. And they, in particular Doctor Jeannine Marino, they’ve really set the context at home, providing an opportunity for our consultative bodies, for small group gatherings to continue to talk about the issues that are central to the synod. And there have been some wonderful conversations and some of them, I think, have left a good mark, and some have raised issues that I have to take very seriously.

One concern was our people have said in so many words, so many contexts, they want to be engaged more frequently and more substantively with their bishops. So, we’ve got to get out on the road. And that’s a good thing, to have people say, I want to, I want to get to know my bishop. What does he think? What’s on his mind? And I want to be able to ask him questions that are important to me and my family, my parish, my community. They want that bonding that is indicative of a healthy Church, the flock and the bishop, the flock and the pastors, they want to tighten it and make it more effective.

Crux: Last year’s synod tended to focus on more specific issues, whereas this year’s discussion seems to be focused on more of a general understanding and implementation of synodality. What are the most important talking points so far this year, in your view?

Cardinal Gregory: I think one of them, and this is reflective of my one group — I think there’s something like 36, 38 tables, so I can’t speak for all of the conversations that went on — but we’ve talked significantly in my group about accountability, about allowing people to feel welcomed in the Church. Certainly, passing on the faith, those are the kind of global issues that have kept coming up in my group and I suspect in other groups as well.

Pastors, religious, laypeople, from what I’ve heard in my group and in the coffee breaks, want to make sure that our faith is passed on to another generation and the ways that that used to occur are no longer as effective as they were. Families found time to pray, to dine and to engage. Well, now families are torn in so many different ways, at least in the United States. Now, I cannot speak for other countries. I don’t live there. But I suspect some of the same pressures that we have, they’re facing. So how, then, in that context, how do families deepen their love for one another? And how do we as Catholics, use those vehicles to make sure that the next generation of believers is prepared for the world that they will inherit?

Crux: Speaking of the American context specifically, recently three of your fellow American cardinals and synod delegates had a meeting with Pope Francis to discuss challenges in the American Church. Many were surprised that you weren’t also part of that meeting. Is there a reason you didn’t participate?

Cardinal Gregory: I didn’t get the invitation. I didn’t get the invitation. I have no idea. I don’t know if they asked for the meeting or that the Holy Father asked them. I simply don’t know.

In a press conference, Cardinal [Joseph] Tobin said he had requested the meeting with the pope. … I have no idea.

Crux: If you had been there, what do you think are some challenges that were important to discuss?

Cardinal Gregory: I would think the health of our ecclesial community would be one. Are we a healthy Church? That is, are we a healthy Church that’s rooted in the truth and living in the faith as best we can, practicing charity? And are we a Church that has something to say to the rest of the world? Why become a Catholic?

Crux: How do you think synodality can help in responding to these challenges?

Cardinal Gregory: It gets us talking to each other. One of the things that I am most impressed with, both last year’s gathering [and]  this year’s gathering, is the fact that it’s an environment in which people can honestly speak to one another, hear one another, and not condemn one another. It’s a delightful opportunity to have someone raise an issue of significance that challenges me to listen, to attempt to understand what’s prompting that opinion, and maybe even to learn. A conversation that you enter into where you already have the answer is not a conversation.